AI & Antiquity

Volume 2, Issue 1 (2026) of AI & Antiquity explores the shifting epistemic landscape of Ancient Studies in an era increasingly mediated by artificial intelligence. Moving beyond celebratory or alarmist narratives, this issue addresses AI as a site of negotiation—between pedagogy and research, automation and responsibility, innovation and scholarly trust.

The contributions gathered here examine AI as a cognitive mediator in the classroom, as a methodological tool in historical research, and as a force shaping cultural memory and historiographical inclusion. From practical case studies on responsible classroom implementation to comparative evaluations of generative AI in primary source analysis, the issue foregrounds verification, reflexivity, and critical literacy as core scholarly competencies. It also expands the debate toward public history and heritage discourse, asking how algorithmic systems influence representation, authority, and the recovery of historically marginalised voices.

Particular attention is given to emerging structural challenges, including bibliographic hallucinations, the transformation of editorial responsibility in AI-assisted academic environments, and the weaponisation of generative systems for reputational harm. The volume addresses the use of AI-generated content to fabricate citations, misattribute authorship, or produce defamatory narratives about scholars as a form of academic bullying that operates through technological mediation. Rather than treating such practices solely as individual misconduct, the issue situates them within broader questions of platform governance, verification protocols, and institutional accountability.

Rather than framing technological irregularities as moral failures, this volume advocates for shared institutional adaptation, methodological vigilance, transparent pedagogical practice, and clear ethical frameworks capable of responding to both epistemic and interpersonal risks introduced by AI.

Structured as a coherent itinerary—from mediation to method, from method to memory, and from memory to inclusion—Volume 2, Issue 1 invites scholars, educators, and institutions to engage critically with AI not as a peripheral tool, but as a transformative condition of contemporary knowledge production in Ancient Studies.

Full Issue available in PDF:
Download PDF